Hoshinomura: The Village Behind the Matcha
Many of you will know Hoshinomura, the village in Yame, Fukuoka, from a matcha label. I would like to share a little more about the place behind that name. Its tea history, the way its fields are managed, and the cultivars grown there all help us understand what ends up in the bowl.
A history before matcha
A tax record from 1603 lists tea alongside persimmons and paper among the village’s goods. Tea was already part of life here by that time.
Trials in making gyokuro began in 1904. In 1917, tea makers from the village visited Uji to study production and brought that knowledge home. Working with gyokuro helped them develop their understanding of shading and young shoots: when to shade, what to look for in the leaves, and how these choices affect colour, taste and quality.
The village’s first tencha factory was built in 1937. Tencha is the tea that is later ground into matcha. In 1989, another tencha factory was established with 50 stone mills, an important step towards the matcha production the village is known for today.
Different fields, different harvests
There is more than one way to grow and harvest tencha here. Some tea bushes are allowed to grow in a natural form, known as shizen-shitate, and their leaves are picked by hand. Others are pruned for machine harvesting, with shading material placed directly over the bushes. This second approach is common in the area.
Yabukita, Saemidori and Okumidori are among the cultivars grown here. Their different harvest times help farmers manage the season. Saemidori is generally ready first, followed by Yabukita, then Okumidori.
If every field were ready at once, farmers and factories might struggle to pick and process all the leaves at the right moment. Growing several cultivars spreads out the work and helps protect quality from the beginning.
More than a roasted aroma
Many people associate Hoshinomura matcha with roasted nuts, grains or chocolate. Some of these aromas develop when tencha is heated during processing. Tea makers call this firing aroma hika. They adjust the heat and time to suit the leaves and the result they want.
But tea from Hoshinomura does not have just one character. A matcha without a strong roasted aroma can still come from this village. Some producers deliberately keep firing aromas gentle, giving more room to the aroma developed through shading, called ooika, and to the tea’s sweetness and umami.
Tasting different producers can reveal both clearly roasted teas and more delicate, layered ones. It is worth leaving room for both.
What comes next
Through conversations with farmers and news from the tea industry, we have been hearing growing interest in Tsuyuhikari, Kirari-31 and Seimei. Trial plantings are exploring their potential for wider production.
Japanese research suggests that Seimei may tolerate cold better than Saemidori, works well under shade for tencha production, and produces a vivid green colour when ground.
We still need to see how these cultivars perform in practice, in both quality and yield. I look forward to discovering what they may add to the matcha we know from Hoshinomura.
